100th Post - What Do I Win?

Seriously, we can put men in space, we can cure diseases, and we can create some of the world's greatest masterpieces, so tell me in what planet does this item sound like a good idea? I mean really, you can't operate a seat belt, so you need help with making it work better? I love American ingenuity, but seriously, a lot of what we develop is simply to take advantage of stupid people into sending their money for things. Granted, we can't legislate intelligence, and I try to avoid having government pass laws to protect people from themselves, but seriously, I think it's about time to consider it. Because I can't think of anything redeeming about this product at all. And yes, I'm fully aware of where the product ends up on most of the female clientele.

I love reading about how Sunday's Super Bowl was the best game ever, and it immediately should be ranked amongst the best games ever. Uh, seriously, here? I can think of at least 5 games that I found more interesting and were better overall games from start to finish. (Elway's first Super Bowl win, Norwood's missed kick versus the Giants, the Giants win last year, Patriots first win in 2002, 49ers win in 1982 just to name 5 right now, there could be more.) It's not that the game was all that boring, either. You had two evenly matched teams, both teams made big plays, and the fourth quarter was back and forth, so that was good. On the flip side, you had uneven officiating throughout the game, non existent running games, and really a first half that bordered on sloppy for both sides.

But we are in an era of Super Bowls that don't suck, so really, fans right now may not remember the trash that really was the Super Bowl until about 2002. Games weren't close for the most part, and when they were, it was true back and forth, nail biting classics. Otherwise, the games were over by halftime, so the excuse was to get drunk and watch the commercials until something else was on television. Now, in the golden age of Super Bowls, there really hasn't been a blowout in a while, so I think each game gets thrown on the hyperbole of great games, even if it really wasn't. Pittsburgh played very well, and made plays when they needed to, but if the game ended and Arizona won, it wouldn't have been a huge surprise because for the most part, they played well. Yes, the forth quarter was a classic battle, back and forth, with some huge plays, but I couldn't consider the whole game a true classic.

But as a sports fan, I'm entitled to my opinion, and so there will be plenty of other dissenting views, and that's OK. One of the great things about sports is that discussions like this really share knowledge between sports fans, and so you impart history and information between people that know and share passion. Unfortunately, you get the other side where people from the modern era tend to forget the things that just happened 10 years ago. Seriously, when the NBA was polling current players about the best shooters of the game, they mentioned a lot of good players. From the current ranks. With nobody from the previous eras even remotely mentioned. How can you have a discussion of great NBA shooters and not include Larry Bird or George Gervin? Oh, that's right, they played before the era of Sports Center.

Which is where the whole classic thing bugs me the most. If someone hasn't seen it, apparently it either doesn't exist, or it's too obscure to be true. And I don't want to sound like a sports fan that uses the tired analogy of walking up hill barefoot to school to describe my experience in being a fan while I was younger, but when you could only watch one MLB game a week on TV, when NBA was an only occasional watch, NFL was restricted to what you got on your market area, and your newspaper box scores were the way that you learned more about teams and players, it makes you appreciate what an era we live in now, with sports anytime, anywhere. But by the same token, games and performances get taken for granted, and history seems less relevant because it's the here and now.

True fans of the game appreciate the current, learn about the past, and look towards the future with open eyes and hearts. I miss some of the simplicity of being a fan when things were more simple, but at the same time, being able to get scores and highlights anytime spoils me greatly. Being able to watch a Trail Blazer game while checking the Gonzaga score on my phone is priceless, and something that every sports fan appreciates. But in appreciating that, it's also important to remember where we came from.

As far as MLS updates for Portland, there are a couple of important items. The City Task Force keeps meeting to try and hit the deadline to recommend that Portland either officially apply for a team or defer the idea for later. Randy Leonard has asked the group to keep on task to meet the deadline, and focus on soccer rather than baseball right now. While it's important to get that task done, the issue is that MLS will be making its decision within the next month or two, and we need to get things in order now or lose an opportunity here. On February 24th, the Task Force will be taking public comments, and I'll post information about where it is, and what you can do to help. It's important to make your voice heard here, and let the city know that this idea has merit, and we would support MLS coming here. I understand the city has important issues, but at the same point, we have a chance here to do something special and bring top level soccer to the Rose City.